Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

Better Streaming: Documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reveal that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is readying a re-designed version of its Apple TV media streaming device, TechCrunch notes. The updated device features a faster processor and somewhat smaller exterior casing. Apple recently released a software update for the Apple TV which gave the device the ability to stream music from Cloud-based iTunes storage and the ability to connect with Bluetooth keyboards. Given the FCC filing, the updated Apple TV will likely hit store shelves within weeks.

No Copycats: Apple, which has attracted some criticism for pursuing a wide-array of patent infringement lawsuits against rival mobile devices makers, has now trademarked the design of its chain of retail stores, ZDNet notes. Apple had first applied for a trademark on its store designs in 2010. Last week, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office granted the application. With the trademark, Apple can prevent other retailers from reproducing retail layouts that possess “a clear glass storefront surrounded by a panelled facade” and “oblong table with stools… set below video screens flush mounted on the back wall.” In recent years, Chinese authorities closed a number of fake Apple Stores that looked sufficiently like real thing that they fooled consumers.

Disguised: Chinese media sources indicate that Apple’s new three-building complex in Shanghai is not a research and development center, AppleInsider notes. According to sources, Apple is recruiting senior supply chain managers to work at the facility, suggesting that the company plans to use the complex as a hub to coordinate shipments from its Southeast Asian suppliers. Previous media accounts had indicated that the center would be dedicated to research and development. Apple products are typically designed at its California facilities and produced by Asian manufacturing partners. The company has experienced supply constraints over the past year as some of its overseas suppliers encountered production problems with its latest generation of super-slim devices, including the iPhone 5, iPad Mini and new iMacs.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.